Wad cutting, forming, and placing machine



Nov. 24, 1936. D, HUYETT 2,061,577

WAD CUTTING, FORMING, AND PLACING MACHINE Filed March 14, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 24, 1936. D HUYETT WAD CUTTING, FORMING, AND PLACING MACHINE Filed March 14, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet l om n Patented Nov. 24, 1936 STATES 'EE 'i" @FFECE WAD GUTTING, FORMING, AND PLACING MACHINE Application March 14, 1934, Serial No. 715,541

19 Claims.

This invention relates to Wad cutting, forming and placing machines of the character of that shown in my copending application Serial No. 654,349, filed January 30, 1933; the present application being a continuation, in part, of the aforesaid application and being intended to cover certain refinements and improvements in the machine there illustrated.

The principles embodied in the machines of 19 these applications are applicable in the general class of machines which form paper wads or caps and then insert the same into the open ends of tubular bodies.

An important use for a machine of this character is in the manufacture of the very popular form of cheap low explosive package marketed under the name Blakstix. In the formation of this explosive package, simple paper tubes, open at both ends and formed of quite light-weight 20 paper, are filled with black powder or like relatively low explosive; said powder being moist and more or less plastic when packed in said tubes. After the powder has been packed and levelled off in said tubes the packages are subjected to a drying operation under which the powder becomes quite hard. Wads or caps are then placed in each end of the paper tubes and the ends of the tubes are crimped over such wads to completely seal the package.

Prior to my invention of the machine described in my copending application it had been the practice to place these wads in the ends of the tubes or packages by hand. The machine disclosed in said copending application functioned to automatically cut off the necessary material for the wads from a strip of wad material, cup said material to form the wad, and then place the wad in position in the end of the package. Since the paper or other wad material employed is of quite light weight, it follows that it is easily deformed so that the ends of the packages do not present true circles.

One of the important features upon which the present application is based consists of the provision of improved means to facilitate the insertion of the wad even when the paper tube of the package is out of round.

A further object of the present invention is to provide means for venting the die to permit the ready escape of any fine powder particles which might otherwise be blown back into the mechanism and create an undesirable hazard.

The cutting off die in my copending application was moved positively in one direction by a cam and in the other direction by a spring or springs.

I have found it desirable in order to avoid any possibility of sticking of the parts to provide means for imparting a positive initial kick to this element in the direction of its spring actuated movement; the completion of the stroke be- 5 ing under the influence of the spring, and this feature also constitutes one of the improvements covered by the pending application.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure l. is a View, partly in plan and partly in 10 horizontal section, of a mechanism constructed in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view of the die, hereinafter described.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the structure of 15 Fig. 1 and Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of the actuating mechanism of the wad placing means, hereinafter described, said section being a fragmentary section upon line 44 of Figure l. 20

Figure 5 is an enlarged view showing the structure of the die throat and associated parts.

Like numerals designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

I will first describe those portions of the mecha- 5 nism which are like the corresponding portions in my former application and will then describe the additions and improvements which have been made therein.

The machine of my copending application dis- 3 closes a pair of wad cutting, forming and placing mechanisms positioned upon opposite sides of a feed mechanism by which the open ended tubes are fed into alignment with said mechanisms; the wads being simultaneously thrust int-o the oppo- 35 site ends of the tubes by said mechanisms.

The mechanism of the present application may be used and is primarily intended to be used in the same way, but since the mechanism is capable of functioning to apply a wad at one end of 40 the tube and since the novel features of the present application are not dependent upon the use of the mechanism in pairs, I have deemed it unnecessary to illustrate a whole machine but have illustrated only those features necessary to clearly disclose what is new in the present case.

The mechanism is actuated from a power shaft l2 carrying a pair of cams l3 disposed upon opposite sides of a central cam M. The function 0 of cams I3 is to thrust against rollers 15 that are carried by the cross head comprising yoke members iii, tie bar I? and rods [8, to thrust these parts toward the right in Fig. 1 and against the tension of springs I9. The springs l9 bear 55 between a fixed frame member 28 and the flange 2! of a die carrier 22.

The die 23 has a flaring mouth 24 adapted to receive and support the projecting end 25 of the tube 26 of the explosive cartridge; the tube entering the mouth of the die as the die moves toward the tube, until the end of the tube abuts against the thimble 271'. This thimble is rearwardly flared, as indicated at 28. The die and thimble are removably mounted upon the die carrier by screws 29; the die, die carrier and a sleeve it being mounted for reciprocation together.

A sleeve 35 adjustably mounted through the medium of a lock nut 32 in the fixed frame member 26 has its forwardly projecting portion 33 removably connected to the fixed annular cutter 3d by means of a split ring 35, said split ring being of channel formation and being adapted to engage over the collars 36 and 3'! of the cutter and extension 33, respectively. The rear face of the die 23 or the forward face of sleeve 36, as the case may be, or both of these elements, may be transversely channeled to provide a passage 33 for the strip of paper from which the wads are to be cut. The actual cutting is effected when the sharp rear edge 39 of the die. moves over the sharp outer and forward edge of the annular cutter it.

In Figure l, the parts are shown in the position that they occupy after the cutting of the paper has been effected by the rearward movement of the die with respect to the annular cutter; the die having moved rearwardly past the forward cutting edge of the cutter and the severed piece of paper from which the wad is to be formed, being indicated at ii In the rearward movement of the die under the influence of the cams E3, the rear edge of the thimble is brought close enough to the forward end of the cutter as to hold the paper disk 10 in position but not close enough to tightly bind said paper disk 49].

It is important to note that the cutting action takes place when the die is moving away from the explosive package. This makes for safety in that it minimizes the possibility of any particles of explosive being in a position to be set off during the cutting action.

A forming plunger head M is mounted within the cutter 3t and is actuated by a tubular rod 82 under the influence of cam Hi. After the paper has been cut off by the action of cams l3, the springs l9 act to yieldingly thrust the die 23 toward the tubes or cartridges 26 to thereby cause the free endsof said tubes to enter the die to be supported by the same while the wads are being thrust into said tubes. At the same time that the die startsto move forwardly or toward the tube, the plunger 1! moves forwardly and the cams l3 and is are so shaped and arranged that theplunger moves somewhat faster than the die so that by the time the tubes are positioned and seated in the mouths of the dies, and said dies have come to rest, the plunger will have thrust the paper disk h] forwardly in such manner as to cause the flared portion 28 of the thimble to cup the edge of the disk and to bring said disk into position to immediately enter the mouth or open end of the tube 26. It is also important to note that the flanged wad is moving forward through the drawing throat, as the shell or tube is positioned and seated in the mouth of the die. This assures against any loose particles of explosive, which may fall out at this point, dropping "into the cutting and forming portions of the die. Any loose particles which may fall out of the shell will be pushed back toward the cartridge by the advancing wad.

It will be observed that the rearward or cutting action of the die in a positive one under the action of cams 53, while the forward movement of the die is a cushioned one under the action of springs l9. Conversely, the action of the plunger i forwardly is a positive one under the movement of the cam i l, while the rearward movement of the plunger is a cushioned one under the action of a spring Q3 which surrounds the rod i2 and bears between a shoulder of sleeve 38 and a washer 4 disposed in front of a forked element 55 which carries a roller 66 against which the cam i l thrusts. A look nut 45a binds the forked element upon tubular rod 42.

The wad forming and placing mechanism of the present invention differs from that of my prior application in that I recess the forward end of the plunger 3!, as indicated at am, and mount within said recessed portion an auxiliary plunger head Mb that is mounted upon a rod Me. This rod passes through the tubular rod 42 and at its rear end (see Figure 4) is connected to a head did. Head Md carries rearwardly projecting wings die adapted to be engaged by pins I ia on cam i l. The movement of head did toward the rear is under the influence of a spring 4! f which bears between said head and a plate dig that is clamped in position by lock nut 65a.

The function of the plunger ii is to cup the cut-off paper disk by thrusting it forwardly into the contracting throat of the thimble. However, this plunger does not actually move into the open end of the paper tube 26. It moves only to a point at about the forward or left hand edge (in Figure l) of the thimble. The actual work of advancing the wad from that point and seating it in the open end of the tube 26 is done by the auxiliary plunger lib under the influence of the pins Ma on cam it.

Where the work of cupping the paper wad and the seating it in the open end of tube 26 had to be done entirely by plunger 4!, as in my aforesaid application, it was necessary to guard against the ends of the paper tubes being deformed or out of truly circular formation. This was due to the fact that it was necessary to make the plunger 4i very nearly as large in diameter as the internal diameter of the paper tube and consequently the plunger could not enter the end of the tube if the tube was very much out of round. The arrangement described herein very completely obviates that difficulty by effecting the cupping of the material by an element large enough for that purpose while seating the cupped material through the medium of an element so much smaller in diameter than the internal diameter of the paper tube that it makes no difference whether the paper tube happens to be exactly circular or not.

As the smaller plunger llb advances the wad, the edges of the latter yield and pass by any kinks or irregularities in the end of the paper shell, and after entering the shell the wads resume their normal shape and are properly seated.

I find that this arrangement saves delays which might otherwise be occasioned and renders unnecessary the use of separate tube truing means, such as that shown for example at 50 and 5! in my former application.

The movement of the die in its cutting off action or in its movement toward the right in Figure 1 is a positive movement under the influence of cams l3. as before stated, while the return movement of the die, 1. e., its movement which brings it into seating relation upon the end of the paper tube, is a cushioned movement under the influence of the springs l9. In order to insure that there will be no sticking of the parts and failure to operate under the influence of springs I9, I have mounted upon the inner face of the yokes l5, kick plates |6a adapted to be engaged by pins |3a upon the cams I3; said pins serving to impart an initial forward kick to the die to carry it clear of the annular cutter 30; the movement of the die into engagement with the paper tube 26 being then completed and being a cushioned one under the influence of the springs 9.

To prevent any undesirable pumping or suction action, incident to the movement of auxiliary plunger MI) in the recessed end 4|a of plunger 4|, I have vented said recess, as indicated at 4|h; the sides of the plunger 4| being channeled or otherwise relieved, as indicated at 4|. To aid in preventing powder dust from being forced back into the mechanism as the plunger 4| moves forwardly, I have transversely vented the die and thimble, as indicated at 2311. Since the die moves into engagement with the paper tube before the plungers 4| and 4|b complete their movements, it follows that there would be no escape for any powder dust which happened to be within the mouth of the die or adjacent thereto. If the vents 23a or their equivalents were not provided, the action of the plungers might result in forcing some of this powder dust back into the mechanism with consequent increased hazard, and it is to guard against this possibility that I vent the die and thimble, as illustrated in Figure 2. It will be noted that the forming end of plunger 4| is slightly spaced from the fixed annular cutter 34 as clearly appears in Figs. 1 and 5. The provision of this peripheral space about the plunger 4| renders it possible for the two plungers 4| and MI) to vent during the initial forward movement of said plungers. In other words, in the initial forward movement of these plungers, the air, in advance of them and rearwardly of the cut wad 40, will be forced through the space 4| about the circumference of the plunger 4|, and this rush of air keeps these surfaces clean and free of any powder particles. Further, it will be seen that as soon as the paper groove 38 (see Fig. 5), in its movement toward the cartridge, passes the forward or cutting end of the fixed cutter 34, the space between the rear of plunger 4| and cutter 34 will likewise be vented through the channel or space 4|, the air passing through said channel and around the cutting edge of the fixed annular cutter to said paper groove. Here, again, the 'rush of air through the peripheral space about plunger 4| blows out any powder particles which tend to cake on the parts or to work their way back into the oil bearing surfaces.

Like the former application, the structure described lends itself to the ready substitution of other sizes of die, forming plunger, and cutter; there being no change with respect to this feature of the invention.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular arrangement shown but that any equivalent structure for accomplishing the same results, falling within either the terms Having described my invention, what I claim 1. A device of the character described comprising a die having a mouth shaped to receive and support the end of a paper tube, of wad forming mechanism associated therewith, and means for venting the die in advance of said mechanism to permit the escape of air and powder particles during the movement of the wad forming mechanism.

2. A device of the character described comprising a member having a mouth shaped to receive and support the end of a tube to be capped, a wad handling plunger operable therein, and means for venting said member in advance of said wad handling plunger for the purposes set forth;

3. A device of the character described comprising an element shaped to receive the end of a tube to be capped, a wad forming plunger and a wad handling plunger movable within said element, and means for venting said element in advance of said plungers for the purposes set forth.

4. A device of the character described comprising a die having a mouth shaped to receive and support the end of a paper tube, a removable thimble having a rearwardly flaring throat mounted in said die, a plunger cooperating with said thimble to cup a piece of material, and means for venting the thimble and die to permit the escape of air from the space within the die, and in advance of the wad-handling mechanism.

5. A device of the character described comprising a die, an annular cutter with which the die co-acts, positive mechanical means for moving the die in one direction, spring means for actuating the die in the other direction, and means for mechanically imparting a positive thrust to the parts at the beginning of the Spring actuated movement.

6. A device of the character described comprising a fixed annular cutter, a die having a mouth shaped to receive the end of a paper tube, and comprising a portion co-acting with the fixed annular cutter to out off a piece of material to form a wad, a rotative cam, members engaged with the die and against which said cam acts to move the die in one direction, spring means for moving the die in the other direction, and means carried by said cam, for imparting a positive thrust to: the die at the beginning only, of its spring actuated stroke.

'7. A device of the character described comprising a fixed annular cutter, a reciprocatory die having a throat adapted to receive the open ends of tubes to be capped, spring means for thrusting the die toward the tubes, cam means for moving the die against the action of said springs, and means for imparting a positive thrust to the die actuating parts at the beginning only of the spring actuated portion of its movement.

8. A device of the character described comprising a die having a mouth shaped to receive the open ends of tubes to be capped, a cutter with respect to which said die reoiprocates, cams for moving the die in its cutting action, spring means for moving the die in its non-cutting action and into engagement with the paper tubes, means for imparting an initial positive movement to the die in its last named movement, a forming plunger movable in the cutter, a cam for moving the forming plunger in one direction and a spring for moving the forming plunger in the other direction, a second plunger of smaller diameter than the first named plunger and movable therein and acting to place the formed wad, spring means for retracting the last named plunger, and cam means for advancing the last named plunger. 9. A device of the character described'comprising a die having a mouth adapted to receive the open ends of tubes, a wad forming and placing mechanism movable within the die and comprising a cutter, a forming plunger and a placing plunger movable within the forming plunger, a tubular rod by which the forming plunger is carried, a rotative cam thrusting against and acting upon the rear portion of said tubular rod to advance the same, a rod upon which the plac- .ing plunger is mounted and passing through the tubular rod, cam plates carried by the rear end of the last named rod, and members carried by the rotative cam and acting upon said cam plates to advance the placing plunger.

.10. A device of the character described, comprising a die, a cutter co-acting with said die, a

' forming plunger movable in the cutter, a placing plunger movable axially in the forming plunger, a tubular rod by which the forming plunger is carried, a rod by which the placing plunger is carried, a bifurcated member upon the rear end of the tubular rod, a part carried by said bifurcated member and spanning the space between the arms of the same, a cam, the periphery of which bears upon said part, spring means tending to hold the tubular rod against the periphery of the cam, ahead carried by the rod of the placing plunger, which head lies between the sides of the bifurcated member, and the upper portion of which projects beyond said bifurcated member, spring means tending to thrust the said head rearwardly with respect to the bifurcated member, pins projected from the opposite sides of the cam, and wings lying in the path of movement of said pins, and connected to the said head.

11. In combination a die, an annular cutter co -acting with said die, a first plunger movable in the cutter and initially cupping the material to form wads, and a second plunger movable through the first named plunger, and placing the fwads so formed.

12. A device of the character described comprising a die, a cutter co-acting with said die to sever pieces of cap material, a forming plunger movable in the cutter to cup the material cut off by the cutter, and a second plunger movable through the first named plunger for placing the cupped material.

13. A device of the character described comprising a die, a fixed annular cutter, means for reciprocating the die with respect to the cutter to thereby cut off a piece of wad forming material, wad forming and placing mechanisms movable through the die to form and place a wad of the material cut ofi, said die being vented at a point in advance of the formed wad to permit the escape of air from the space within the die and ahead of the formed wad, as set forth.

14. A device of the character described com prising a die, a fixed annular cutter, means for reciprocating the die with respect to the cutter to thereby cut off a piece of wad forming material, wad forming and placing mechanisms movable through the die to form and place a wad of the, material cut off, said die being vented at a point in advance of the form d wad to permit 7 the escape of air from "the space defined circumferentially by the die, rearwardly by the cut wad, and forwardly by the element which receives the wad.

15. In a device of the character described, a die, a first member comprising an annular cutter, a second member for forming wads and located within said first member, a third member for placing the formed wads and located within said second member, at least a portion of said second member being movable outwardly beyond the cutting edge of said first member and into the die, at least a portion of said third member being movable outwardly from the interior of the second member and through the die, and a vent for the space between the second and third members, said vent communicating with a channelarranged between the first andsecond members.

16. A machine for capping the ends of explosive containing tubular receptacles, comprising a die, an annular cutter, a forming plunger located within the annular cutter and movable with respect to said cutter, said forming plunger being spaced from said annular cutter to a degree sufficient to permit air flow between said plunger and cutter and about the periphery of the plunger to thereby prevent stray powder particles from caking between said cutter and plunger.

17. A machine for capping ends of explosive containing receptacles comprising a die, an annular cutter, a forming plunger located within the annular cutter and movable with respect to said cutter, the forming end of said plunger being slightly spaced from said annular cutter and the remainder of said plunger being further spaced from said annular cutter to thereby permit the ready passage of air past said plunger to prevent the accumulation of stray powder particles between said cutter and plunger.

18. In a device of the character described, a die, a first member comprising an annular cutter, a second member comprising a wad forming plunger located within said first member, at least a portion of said plunger being movable outwardly beyond the cutting edge of the annular cutter and into the die, and means for venting the'spa-ce between the first member and the second member which includes an air passage peripherally about the plunger substantially throughout the length thereof.

19. A machine. for capping the ends of explosive containing receptacles comprising a die dimensioned to receive and form a substantially snug fit upon the open ends of paper tubes of explosive, to be capped, an annular cutter, means for feeding a strip of wad forming material across said annular cutter, said die cooperating with said cutter to out said wad forming strips, means carried by the die for pressing said cap about its edge against the forward end of the annular cutter, a forming plunger mounted for longitudinal movement in the annular cutter, a placing plunger movable in the forming plunger and means for venting the space between said plungers and the formed cap peripherally about the forming plunger, the passage of air about the periphery of said plunger keeping the space between the forming plunger and the annular cutter clean and free of the accumulation of powder particles.

DANIEL D. HUYE'IT. 

